Irish comedian Ardal O’Hanlon returns to Dubai for a night of ranting and raving about life.
From his breakout role as bumbling but lovable idiot Dougal in Father Ted, O’Hanlon has left Craggy Island far behind to establish himself as one of Ireland’s best comedians.
He’s playing in Dubai on Friday night at Almas Tower, Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
He tells tabloid! what we can expect from his show.
Q: So, are you looking forward to your Dubai gig? Will it be your first time here?
A: I look forward to every gig. You can’t beat ranting and raving as a way to make a living. It’s my second time in Dubai. I did a very short stand-up tour of Dubai, Bahrain and Oman about five years ago. Happy memories.
Q: Do audiences differ in other countries as compared to Ireland and the UK?
A: Not hugely. Irish audiences tend to be the liveliest but people everywhere tend to laugh at similar stuff. Depends more on the venue itself than the country.
Q: What’s been your best and worst gig over the years? Any heckle nightmares?
A: Worst gig ever was in a prison for sex offenders, shortly after I started out as a comedian. Some genius had the idea that this might help towards their rehabilitation. They roared obscenities and the gig was abandoned after five minutes. Most audiences since have been great. Heckling, contrary to popular perception, is actually not a huge part of the experience. Most satisfying gig recently was in Tallinn, Estonia last year playing to a totally Estonian crowd who hung on every word and got pretty much everything.
Q: You’ll forever be associated with Father Ted. How do you feel about that? Was there ever talk of a spin-off with yourself and father Jack after the death of Dermot Morgan?
A: Father Ted was great while it lasted but while it lingers in people’s affections, I moved on the day we finished the third series. There were never any plans to do spin-offs. Mind you a few days after Dermot’s funeral, a lot of agents were advertising their clients as a possible new Father Ted.
Q: You’re dad was a politician, how did you come from this background into comedy?
A: Not so different really. Politicians and comedians are both pontificating and selling their philosophies to the public.
Q: What prompted you to write ‘The Talk of the Town’? Is there another book on the horizon?
A: I started out in life thinking I was going to be a writer. Don’t quite know how I managed to squeeze out a novel. Once I stumbled into stand-up, I realised the bitty, immediate nature of it probably suited my temperament and short attention span. I hope to write more in the future.
Q: What can we expect from the Dubai gig?
A: Observations and musings about everyday life.
Q: Some comedians are quite careful when it comes to allowing people to film their shows because everything is put on the internet and is forever accessible to potential future audiences. So material could be stolen or watered down. What’s your take on that?
A: I’d prefer if people didn’t film stuff but you can’t fight the future. Stand-up is a live experience. And without full production values (like Michael McIntyre show) and heavy editing, it’s always going to look a bit crap out of context.
